ATLANTA - The latest candidate to join the contest for the U.S. Senate, David Perdue, said Wednesday he's willing to put his own money behind his candidacy.

"I'm going to be our largest investor. The reason is I believe in our campaign," he said in an interview with Morris News, his first since declaration.

However, he said he won't entirely fund his campaign because he wants the involvement of others.

The cousin and business partner of former Gov. Sonny Perdue, David Perdue, announced Wednesday morning by email that he's running for the Republican Senate nomination. The long-expected announcement comes after months of an exploratory process in which he traveled the state talking to potential supporters and raising money without having to formal declare his candidacy or report how much he's collected.

"Everywhere we went we were met by concerned Georgians who share my frustration with the lack of results in Washington, D.C. and the politicians who are responsible," he said in his announcement email. "They're ready to elect someone from outside the political establishment with a different skill set and a passion to make America stronger."

David Perdue, age 63, retired to Sea Island in 2007 after serving as chief executive officers of Dollar General. He heads a private investment firm and is partners with the former governor in a shipping company as well as sitting on the board of directors of three corporations.

Before Dollar General, he led other consumer-products companies like Reebok International, Pillowtex Corporation and Hillshire Brands. He said he may be new to politics but that he's not new to competition.

David Perdue will have the usual challenges of any first-time candidate in assembling a staff, raising money and letting voters know who he is. But he's better known among Republicans and state business leaders than the average political newcomer, notes Kerwin Swint, political science professor at Kennesaw State University.

"I wouldn't include him in the same category (with other unknowns in the race," Swint said.

The former governor's name, connections and advice will certainly help, such as appointing him the board of the Georgia Ports Authority which he left in April. The Senate campaign co-chairmen include two of the more of the governor's appointees to the Ports Authority, Alec Poitevint, former Republican National Committeeman, and Jim Lentz, a retired Atlanta banker who served as the governor's chief operating officer.

Perdue joins a crowded race that already includes six others, including three congressmen and a former secretary of state. Plus, two of the congressmen, Jack Kingston and Phil Gingrey, have more than $2 million cash in their campaign accounts.

Perdue tries to turns their advantages into a disadvantage.

"The career politicians have created this mess, and we just can't expect them to clean it up," he said on his announcement video. "If we want different results in Washington, we just have to send a different kind of person to Washington."

The victor in next June's primary will have to face the winner of the so-far three person Democratic primary and whoever the Libertarian Party's convention nominates.